Miami Dolphins still in playoff chase but New England is coming to town
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins are still thick in the playoff chase and in fact they sit one game out of the sixth seed but they do not hold their own fate in their hands.
This coming weekend the Miami Dolphins can make a case for why the belong in the post-season but it is going to take their best game plan on both offense and defense to upend the New England Patriots. By doing so they will remain in the playoff picture.
Even if the Dolphins somehow win on Sunday they will not control their own destiny to the post-season they will need help and frankly a lot of it. Miami will enter week 14 as the seventh seed one game out of the Ravens and tied with the Colts, Broncos, and Titans at 6-6. So why do they not control their own fate should the Ravens fall? Because the tie breaker formula can and will change the seeding.
Miami loses in a head to head with the Colts but they need to have a third team finish the season with the same record in order to get into the post-season. That means that if the Colts get back on track and start winning again, the Dolphins will need Baltimore to drop one game and the Broncos and Titans to keep pace.
With four weeks to go until all of this is decided the Dolphins have one of the toughest shedules to make it happen. They have the Patriots this week and then wrap the last three with games against the Jaguars, Vikings, and Bills again.
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Miami fans can think the Bills game is a win but if we learned anything from yesterday’s victory over their division rival it’s that while it was a win, it was one dropped pass from being a loss.
The chances of the Dolphins making the post-season is still very thin but mathematically it is still possible. They will however need to beat the Patriots next Sunday. A win by New England seals the division championship for the Patriots and will put Miami in a tough position as it relates to the post-season.
It will also be interesting to watch what happens with the Steelers. The Steelers lost Sunday night to the Chargers and will face the Raiders, Patriots, Saints, and Bengals in the final four weeks. While the Raiders and Bengals won’t give them much trouble the Patriots and Saints will. If they drop one to either of the other two, it will shake-up the playoff picture.
The remaining schedules for the other three teams at 6-6 and the Ravens are below.
Baltimore Ravens: @ Kansas City, Tampa Bay, @Los Angeles, Cleveland
The Ravens have two tough games but Tampa is playing better and could give the Ravens a run for the win. Cleveland also could surprise the Ravens in week 17.
Predicted finish: 2-2 down the stretch to finish 9-7
Denver Broncos: @ San Francisco, Cleveland, @ Oakland, L.A. Chargers
The Broncos have three relatively easy games in the next three weeks and they should win those three before facing the Chargers in week 17.
Predicted finish: 3-1 down the stretch to finish 9-7
Indianapolis Colts: @ Houston, Dallas, New York Giants, @ Tennessee
The Colts have two tough games and will finish with the Titans that could eliminate the Titans from a multi-team tie-breaking scenario. The Colts beat the Titans in week 11. If the Colts, Dolphins, and Titans all finish tied the Titans are eliminated by the Colts and the Dolphins will then be eliminated as well.
Predicted finish: 2-2 down the stretch to finish 8-8 but they could steal a win against Dallas who is playing really good defense right now.
Tennessee Titans: Jacksonville, @ NY Giants, Washington, Indianapolis
Tennessee should play well enough to win the next two weeks but the Redskins and Colts will be tough games for a team that is up and down.
Predicted finish: 2-2 down the stretch with a loss in week 17 to finish the season 8-8.
Miami Dolphins: New England, @ Minnesota, Jacksnoville, @ Buffalo
With four games left the Dolphins have three tough games and then a tough finale against the Bills in Orchard Park. Miami needs to win three of their last four to finish 9-7 which would put them in a tie with the Broncos and Ravens if the predictions above hold true.
Predicted finish: 2-2 down the stretch with wins over the Bills and Jaguars to finish the season 8-8. In this case the Dolphins will need both the Ravens and Broncos to finish the season 1-3 forcing a tie of 8-8 teams. The Bills and Jaguars are critical in that they will count in the conference record that is used to determine the tie-breaking winner. Beating the Patriots will help that as well.